Life — May 25, 1905 — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AVING received her modern education, Gertrude was let louse upon an unsuspecting world She permitted herself to take walk in the woods. Nature,” said Gertrude, somewhat deprecatingly, been brought up on wholly un- conventional lines. She has, alas! no system, These tree trunks are allowed to fall indiscriminately. Such waste! And as for conse of energy, where is it? Everywhere I about me pathetic evidences of gross “has carelessness, not to mention wholly bad artistic effects."” Returning to her parents, she viewed them also with a certain savor of dis- criminative criticism. “You appear,”’ said, ‘to baffled by your surroundings. is a comes from philosophic resignation, to which you are wholly alien, Your servants— when you have them—oppress you. Your friendships, made wholly without regard to utilitarianism, are too often unproductive of anything but vain pleasure, thus weakening your moral fibre. A more intelligent use of the principles of Sociology would produce in you a greater symmetry, You worry, without knowing that worry is merely molecular, or perc she be ‘There intelligent calmness that ng for a moment that there is a psychology of the hearth- stone which, if judiciously applied, would lift vulgar rou- tine."* you above Forced by circumstances beyond her medi; control, she was obliged to pass a few weeks at a summer said amusing Gertrude, 2 its ulterior These poor fools, lulled by certain paralogisms of the mind, im- agine they are having a good time. And yet how absurd their pose. Did they but know that things are not what “is oftentimes aspects. -LIFE- Bringing Her Around. they seem—that the sea is merely a sensation, and fleeting styles in bathing garments only an appeal to the excita- tion of the ganglionic centres, they would seek in simple contemplation what pleasure there is in subjectivity, and shake off the shackles of mere m Tialism. While recording these phenomena, and being for a moment quite alone on the beach, with the light of the moon overhead, she was approached by a young man, who upon several previous 1 obtruded himself upon her consciousne “T love you,” said the young man, ‘ Love,” replied Gertrude, ‘is pure- occasions ha ly relative in its action, and can never be a thing-in-itself. It has no objective validity.” “Tt is extremely pleasant,” said the young man, taking her hand. ‘Pleasure and pain,” replied Ger- trude, ‘are simply sensations obeying the law of contrast. If all things were reduced to an absolute zero, there would be nothing at all, What we term reality is nothing but the inter- changing of activities, producing heat which becomes latent in objects, thus enabling us to differentiate their identity, * Good," said the young man. “TI perceive that you are wound up, but believing as I do that at heart you are in reality a sweet and lovable girl, I'm going to let you run on. For I love you, with all your peculiarities. You do the talking and I'll do the love- making. I have come to stay.”” A week later, when the moon had reached its full, and the soft sympa- thetic waves were lulling these two to a supreme joy that she had never felt before — when earth and air and sky seemed to surround them with a heav- enly sweetness—Gertrude sat once more with her head on the young man's shoulder, ** Dearest,” she murmured, ‘will you forgive me for all my nonsense ?”* And he smiled indulgently as he said : “Yes, darling, I knew you would recover all right. But I want you to promise me one thing, “ Anything !"" exclaimed Gertrude, penitently, as she snuggled up a little closer. ‘* What is it?” “Only this,” replied the young man, s & momentary shadow flitted across his face at the thought of what he had endured for her sake: “Promise me that you will never have a relapse Tom Masson. comicbooks.com